A Gift of Fortune
by Light-Princess14
Summary: Hazel has ventured into the mortal city on a quest to find...the perfect Christmas present? Will the odds and good fortune be on her side? Or is she doomed to find the perfect Christmas present by dinner time?


**Author's Note:** Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone (even though they already passed...) Also Happy New Year since I'm sure I will be publishing this at the last moment possible. This story was written for a fellow camper over on a PJO forum I belong to, Defiatos the Happy. Please note that I haven't written anything Percy Jackson related before (except for a failed attempt at an adventure story that never got published...) so please bear with me. But I think it turned out rather good! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Remember that I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I am not Rick Riordan.

* * *

It was that time of year again. Shops and businesses all decorated their interiors with festive lights and garland while festive holiday music flowed out their doors and into the streets. People were moving in all sorts of directions; some panicking as they have not finished their Christmas shopping yet and others just enjoyed walking on the snow covered sidewalks.

It was all different to Hazel, experiencing her first Christmas in the modern West. Christmas season back in New Orleans was always festive but never to this extent. Although materialistic, she could still feel the warm Christmas spirit even in modern times. But despite that, she had no idea what she was doing. She wasn't even supposed to be out in the mortal city yet there she was, aimlessly wandering down the street.

She could have just gone to New Rome to do her Christmas shopping. All the other demigods were doing so, why couldn't she? The only reason she had was to get away for a bit and gain a new experience outside of Camp Jupiter. But now she was regretting her choice as she didn't buy anything nor knew what she was going to buy.

At least she wasn't alone, for she had her half brother Nico by her side. During one of his visits to camp, she asked Nico to take her into the city, any city actually, to buy a gift. The gift was obviously for Frank but she didn't tell Nico that. After much convincing, Nico finally agreed and they shadow travelled to the nearest major city, San Francisco. It was a beautiful city as it seemed like the stars, the sky and the whole world seemed to dance with the snowflakes that were gently falling. Hazel couldn't help but sigh at the sight as everything finally seemed peaceful.

"Did you decide what you're going to buy yet?" Nico's slightly annoyed tone broke through Hazel's thoughts. She shook her head as she remembered the purpose of this trip. Hazel had to find Frank a gift, especially after being told by Frank that he had already gotten a present for her.

"I don't know what to get him! I've seen so many things but none of them really seem... right for him," Hazel replied as they walked.

"Well we have to hurry back soon before someone realizes you've been gone for way too long," Nico reminded her. Although they already talked over the trip with Reyna briefly, they still had a time limit to keep and also to leave before they encountered any monsters more than willing to rip them to shreds even on holiday.

"I know," Hazel sighed. "What do you think would be a good gift for him?"

"I don't know him more than you Hazel. How should I know what he likes?"

"Thank you Nico for all your help," Hazel mumbled sarcastically. She stopped in front of a shop's front and peered through the window. "Let's just try this one and if we don't find anything, we can just leave. I'll just pick something up at New Rome or something," she told Nico. She pulled open the shop's door with the handle and stepped inside with Nico. They were greeted by cheerful music of course and green and red lights hung from the ceiling. This store seemed less packed and congested than others she visited earlier and even had more variety. She passed shelves of porcelain dolls, model airplanes and even exquisite china. It seemed like the store wasn't really a specific kind of store but a store filled with different types of things. Hazel was having the feeling that she came to the right place.

The only problem that remained was finding the right thing for Frank within the place. There was so much to choose from yet she was still having trouble deciding what to choose. Frank wasn't really the person who had a specific style so it made it harder to find him a gift Hazel was sure he would like.

She passed by another row of selves before coming to a halt. She examined the shelf she stopped at until she found it. It was a pretty glass ball with a little hand crafted winter scene in the sphere. It was just a snowman on a hill with a dark sky filled with Aurora Lights. She never saw anything like it before. She picked it up carefully, as it seemed delicate, and headed over to where her brother was. "Nico, do you know what this is?" she asked

"Oh that's a snow globe. It's your first time seeing one right?" Hazel nodded her head in reply to his question. "Well if you want to know how it works, just shake it a little," he told her.

Hazel did exactly that, shaking the glass sphere gently. When she stopped to look, she saw tiny pieces of white things (which she guessed were there to resemble snow) floating around in the liquid also contained in the ball. It made the scene seem even more real and beautiful. She liked it so much that she was actually thinking of buying it for herself and giving Frank another thing. But she knew that finding something equally perfect to this would take a lot more time and time was something she didn't have at the moment.

"I'm going to buy this!" Hazel said with a smile.

"Cool. How much is it?" Nico asked.

"How much?" Hazel repeated. She didn't even think about the cost but know she knew it was probably worth more than what she had. Then another thought crossed her mind. She only had denari on her hands and failed to remember that the mortal world did not use the same currency as they did in camp.

"You don't have any mortal cash on you," Nico guessed after examining Hazel's expression.

"No. Only Denari. I should have thought this through. You don't happen to have any money do you?"

"Nope," Nico said and Hazel's spirits deflated. Just her luck. That's what she got for trying to buy something out of camp. Maybe she should just find out how much it cost so that eventually she'll find the money and buy it. It would be way after Christmas but she still wanted the snow globe.

She strode up to the shopkeeper's desk and waited patiently for a cashier or a worker to arrive. Soon enough, a somewhat old lady exited the back room and greeted Hazel at the desk. Hazel immediately noticed her unusual looking eyes."Hello. How may I help you?"

"Yes. I was wondering the price for this...er..snow globe," Hazel said.

"Ah you picked out a great one. One of my favourites in the whole store but actually quite expensive. How do you plan on purchasing it?" the woman asked.

Hazel noticed that the lady didn't exactly answer her question. "I haven't figured it out yet. So how much is it?"

"Tell me, do you think you are a lucky person?"

The question caught Hazel off guard. Why was this lady asking her about lucky all of the sudden? She just wanted to get a price and leave. She didn't want to think about all the "luck" she had over the years. "Not really," she answered at last.

"How unfortunate. You might just lose at this game then." Before Hazel could speak, the snow globe she placed on the table was gone. Instead they were replaced by five wrapped boxes in green wrapping paper and gold ribbons. They were all the same size and gave no indication as to what was inside each box.

Hazel looked around and noticed nobody was in the shop anymore. Even her brother Nico seemed to disappear. Now she was certain something dealing with the gods were at work here. A lucky person...and a game...Could this lady in front of her be the goddess Fortuna? It just had to be her. She now realized the unusual eyes the woman had were really a sign of blindness, something the Romans depicted when talking about Fortuna's appearance. "You're Fortuna," Hazel finally said.

"Well I'm glad you finally figured it out demigod. Now within one of these boxes is the thing you seek. You may only choose one box. You are not allowed to touch the box until after you have chosen. No refunds," Fortuna smiled politely.

Hazel resisted the urge to groan in front of the goddess. What if she chose the wrong box? She could receive bad luck for the rest of her life from making the wrong choice. Plus, there was no guarantee that the right box had the snow globe she wanted. Fortuna didn't guarantee that one of the boxes held the snow globe; she only said that something Hazel sought was in the box.

She tried to think about which box could be holding the snow globe. It almost seemed like each of the boxes could have held a snow globe. Then she came up with the possibility that none of the boxes had the snow globe. Hazel made her decision.

"I choose this box," Hazel said, reaching out to grab a box on her left. As soon as she did, the other boxes disappeared. She hoped she made the right decision. She opened the lid of the box carefully then peaked inside and smiled.

/*/*/*/

Hazel and Frank were on the pathway to the temple of Pluto. They decided to break away from the celebrations to exchange gifts. They planned to open them at the same time. Hazel's gift was already in Frank's hands and she was currently holding his gift in her hands.

"On three?" Frank suggested. Hazel nodded her head. "One. Two. Three."

They both removed the lids of their wrapped presents with shocked expressions. They then looked at each other for a while before breaking out in laughter. Somehow, they managed to buy the exact same snow globe for each other. What luck.

"Fortuna?" Frank asked.

"Fortuna," Hazel nodded with a smile.

* * *

A/N: Well that was the story. I hope it wasn't too horrible and random! I hope you enjoyed it Def!


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